SoroushVahidi/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Big data: the next frontier for innovation in therapeutics and healthcare.
(2014)

Advancements in genomics and personalized medicine not only effect healthcare delivery from patient and provider standpoints, but also reshape biomedical discovery. We are in the era of the '-omics', wherein an individual's genome, transcriptome, proteome and metabolome can be scrutinized to the finest resolution to paint a personalized biochemical fingerprint that enables tailored treatments, prognoses, risk factors, etc. Digitization of this information parlays into 'big data' informatics-driven evidence-based medical practice. While individualized patient management is a key beneficiary of next-generation medical informatics, this data also harbors a wealth of novel therapeutic discoveries waiting to be uncovered. 'Big data' informatics allows for networks-driven systems pharmacodynamics whereby drug information can be coupled to cellular- and organ-level physiology for determining whole-body outcomes. Patient '-omics' data can be integrated for ontology-based data-mining for the discovery of new biological associations and drug targets. Here we highlight the potential of 'big data' informatics for clinical pharmacology.
Forecasting Real Estate Prices ∗
(2012)

This chapter reviews the evidence of predictability in US residential and commercial real estate markets. First, we highlight the main methodologies used in the construction of real estate indices, their underlying assumptions and their impact on the stochastic properties of the resultant series. We then survey the key empirical findings in the academic literature, including short-run persistence and long-run reversals in the log changes of real estate prices. Next, we summarize the ability of local as well as aggregate variables to forecast real estate returns. We illustrate a number of these results by relying on six aggregate indexes of the prices of unsecuritized (residential and commercial) real estate and REITs. The effect of leverage and monetary policy is also discussed.
The Beta Generalized Exponential Distribution
(2008)

We introduce the beta generalized exponential distribution that includes the beta exponential and generalized exponential distributions as special cases. We provide a comprehensive mathematical treatment of this distribution. We derive the moment generating function and the rth moment thus generalizing some results in the literature. Expressions for the density, moment generating function and rth moment of the order statistics also are obtained. We discuss estimation of the parameters by maximum likelihood and provide the information matrix. We observe in one application to real data set that this model is quite flexible and can be used quite effectively in analyzing positive data in place of the beta exponential and generalized exponential distributions. keywords: Beta exponential distribution, Information matrix, Generalized exponential distribution, Maximum likelihood estimation.
Motivation and job satisfaction
(1998)

The movement of workers to act in a desired manner has always consumed the thoughts of managers. In many ways, this goal has been reached through incentive programs, corporate pep talks, and other types of conditional administrative policy. However, as the workers adjust their behaviour in response to one of the aforementioned stimuli, is job satisfaction actualized? The instilling of satisfaction within workers is a crucial task of management. Satisfaction creates confidence, loyalty and ultimately improved quality in the output of the employed. Satisfaction, though, is not the simple result of an incentive program. Employees will most likely not take any more pride in their work even if they win the weekend getaway for having the highest sales. This paper reviews the literature of motivational theorists and draws from their approaches to job satisfaction and the role of motivation within job satisfaction. The theories of Frederick Herzberg and Edwin Locke are presented chronologically to show how Locke’s theory was a response to Herzberg’s theory. By understanding these theories, managers can focus on strategies of creating job satisfaction. This is followed by a brief examination of Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey’s theory on leadership within management and how this art is changing through time. Herzberg and job satisfaction
Recognizing Objects in Range Data Using Regional Point Descriptors
(2004)

Recognition of three dimensional (3D) objects in noisy and cluttered scenes is a challenging problem in 3D computer vision. One approach that has been successful in past research is the regional shape descriptor. In this paper, we introduce two new regional shape descriptors: 3D shape contexts and harmonic shape contexts. We evaluate the performance of these descriptors on the task of recognizing vehicles in range scans of scenes using a database of 56 cars. We compare the two novel descriptors to an existing descriptor, the spin image, showing that the shape context based descriptors have a higher recognition rate on noisy scenes and that 3D shape contexts outperform the others on cluttered scenes.
How Smart is Smart Money ? An Empirical Two-Sided Matching Model of Venture Capital
(2003)

In capital markets, top-tier investors may have better abilities to monitor and manage their investments. In addition, there may be sorting in these markets, with top-tier investors investing in the best deals, second-tier investors investing in the second-best deals, and so forth. To separate and quantify these two effects, a structural model of the market for venture capital is developed and estimated. The model is a two-sided matching model that allows for sorting in equilibrium. It is found that more experienced venture capitalists make more successful investments. This is explained both by their value-adding influence on their investments, and by their access to late stage and biotechnology companies, companies that are more successful on average. Sorting is found to be prevalent and has general implications for the interpretation of empirical evidence of the impact of investors on their investments.
Supervised Topic Models
(2007)

We introduce supervised latent Dirichlet allocation (sLDA), a statistical model of labelled documents. The model accommodates a variety of response types. We derive a maximum-likelihood procedure for parameter estimation, which relies on variational approximations to handle intractable posterior expectations. Prediction problems motivate this research: we use the fitted model to predict response values for new documents. We test sLDA on two real-world problems: movie ratings predicted from reviews, and web page popularity predicted from text descriptions. We illustrate the benefits of sLDA versus modern regularized regression, as well as versus an unsupervised LDA analysis followed by a separate regression.
A Circuit-Compatible SPICE model for Enhancement Mode Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistors
(2006)

This paper presents a circuit-compatible compact model for short channel length (5 nm~100 nm), quasi-ballistic single wall carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNFETs). For the first time, a universal circuit-compatible CNFET model was implemented with HSPICE. This model includes practical device non-idealities, e.g. the quantum confinement effects in both circumferential and channel length direction, the acoustical/optical phonon scattering in channel region and the resistive source/drain, as well as the real time dynamic response with a transcapacitance array. This model is valid for CNFET for a wide diameter range and various chiralities as long as the carbon nanotube (CNT) is semiconducting
Fear bradycardia and activation of the human periaqueductal grey
(2013)

Animal models of predator defense distinguish qualitatively different behavioral modes that are activated at increasing levels of predation threat. A defense mode observed at intermediate threat levels is freezing: a cessation of locomotion that is characterized by a parasympathetically dominated autonomic nervous system response that causes heart rate deceleration, or fear bradycardia. Studies in rodents have shown that freezing depends on amygdalar projections to the periaqueductal grey (PAG). In humans, freezing-like behaviors are implicated in development and maintenance of psychopathology, but neural mechanisms underlying freezing or its characteristic autonomic response profile have not been identified. Here, we combined event-related blood oxygenation level-dependent functional MRI (BOLD-fMRI) with autonomic response measures in a picture viewing paradigm to probe activity and interconnectivity within the amygdala-PAG pathway and test for an association with parasympathetic as opposed to sympathetic activation. In response to negatively arousing pictures, we observed parasympathetic (bradycardia) and sympathetic (pupil dilation) autonomic responses, BOLD responses in the amygdala and PAG, and effective connectivity between these regions. Critically, BOLD responses in the PAG to negative pictures correlated on a trial-by-trial basis with bradycardia but not pupil dilation. This correlation with bradycardia remained significant when partialling out pupil dilation. Additionally, activity in regions associated with motor planning and inhibition mirrored the PAG response. Thus, our findings implicate the human PAG in a parasympathetically dominated defense mode that subserves a state of attentive immobility. Mechanistic insight into this qualitatively distinct defense mode may importantly advance translational models of anxiety disorders.
RSSI informed phase method for distance calculations
(2015)

In an attempt to find an accurate, environmentally robust, and fast process for RFID distance estimations, a method was developed called RSSI Informed Phase. This method uses both phase and RSSI measurements to estimate the distance, and potentially location, of a moving RFID tag. RSSI is initially used to find an approximate reader to tag separation distance. This distance value is applied to find an approximate slope of the phase angle vs. frequency curve. The estimated slope can inform the phase distance calculation, meaning fewer reads are required to find the actual phase angle vs. frequency slope. The reduction in the number of necessary reads accelerates the localization process and makes this method more robust for dynamic environments.
Teleoperated robot writing using EMG signals
(2015)

In this paper, we have developed a method to tele-control a robot arm to imitate human writing skills using electromyography (EMG) signals. The control method is implemented on the Baxter® robot with a brush attached on the endpoint of its arm to imitate human writing skills, and a MYO sensor is used to measure the surface electromyographic (sEMG) signals generated by contractions of human muscles involved in writing tasks. A haptic device Sensable® Omni is used to control the motion of the Baxter® robot arm, and V-Rep® is employed to simulate the movement of the arm and to calculate the inverse kinematic of Baxter® robot arm. All the communications for Baxter® robot, V-Rep simulator, Omni device and MYO are integrated in MATLAB®/Simulink®. The main test is to make the Baxter® arm following the movement of a human subject when writing with Omni stylus, and the EMG signals are processed using low pass filter and moving average technique to extract the smoothed envelope which is utilised to control the variation of position instead of variation of force along the vertical Z axis, so when the operator writes with force variations, the Baxter® can draw lines with variable thickness. This imitation system is successfully tested to make the Baxter® arm to follow the writing movement of the operator's hand and would have potential applications in more complicated human robot teleoperation tasks such as tele-rehabilitation and tele-surgery.
Parallel computations for controlling an arm.
(1984)

In order to control a reaching movement of the arm and body, several different computational problems must be solved. Some parallel methods that could be implemented in networks of neuron-like processors are described. Each method solves a different part of the overall task. First, a method is described for finding the torques necessary to follow a desired trajectory. The methods is more economical and more versatile than table look-up and requires very few sequential steps. Then a way of generating an internal representation of a desired trajectory is described. This method shows the trajectory one piece at a time by applying a large set of heuristic rules to a "motion blackboard" that represents the static and dynamic parameters of the state of the body at the current point in the trajectory. The computations are simplified by expressing the positions, orientations, and motions of parts of the body in terms of a single, non-accelerating, world-based frame of reference, rather than in terms of the joint-angles or an egocentric frame based on the body itself.
TimeMachine: Timeline Generation for Knowledge-Base Entities
(2015)

We present a method called TIMEMACHINE to generate a timeline of events and relations for entities in a knowledge base. For example for an actor, such a timeline should show the most important professional and personal milestones and relationships such as works, awards, collaborations, and family relationships. We develop three orthogonal timeline quality criteria that an ideal timeline should satisfy: (1) it shows events that are relevant to the entity; (2) it shows events that are temporally diverse, so they distribute along the time axis, avoiding visual crowding and allowing for easy user interaction, such as zooming in and out; and (3) it shows events that are content diverse, so they contain many different types of events (e.g., for an actor, it should show movies and marriages and awards, not just movies). We present an algorithm to generate such timelines for a given time period and screen size, based on submodular optimization and web-co-occurrence statistics with provable performance guarantees. A series of user studies using Mechanical Turk shows that all three quality criteria are crucial to produce quality timelines and that our algorithm significantly outperforms various baseline and state-of-the-art methods.
Sustainable construction: construction and demolition waste reconsidered.
(2010)

Construction activity in Europe has increased substantially in the past decade. Likewise, there has also been a commensurate rise in the generation of construction and demolition waste (C&DW). This, together with the fact that in many European countries the rate of recycling and reuse of C&DW is still quite low has engendered a serious environmental problem and a motivation to develop strategies and management plans to solve it. Due to its composition, there is a significant potential to reuse and/or recycle C&DW, and thereby, contribute to improving the sustainability of construction and development, but practical procedures are not yet widely known or practiced in the construction industry. This article (a) summarizes the different applications that are presently practiced to optimize the recovery and/or application of C&DW for reuse, and (b) proposes various measures and strategies to improve the processing of this waste. The authors suggest that to enhance environmental effectiveness, a conscious and comprehensive C&DW management plan should be implemented in each jurisdiction. More precisely, this study presents a holistic approach towards C&DW management, through which environmental benefits can be achieved through the application of new construction methods that can contribute to sustainable growth.
Wireless image communication system for fire-fighting robots
(2010)

Recently, it has sometimes been impossible for fire-fighting personnel to access the site of a fire, even as the fire causes tremendous property damage and loss of human life, due to high temperatures or the presence of explosive materials. In such environments, fire-fighting robots can be useful for extinguishing a fire, and they should be controlled by remote operators. In order to help a remote operator who is located far away from the fire-fighting robot, wireless image communication systems have been investigated in this study. The developed system uses a High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) network to transmit images, showing the view from a fire-fighting robot. The fire-fighting robots and remote controllers are equipped with industrial computers, and image-transmitting and image-receiving programs function according to various protocols to allow communication between the robots and controllers
Low voltage low power analog circuit design OTA using signal attenuation technique in universal filter application
(2015)

This paper presents a new configuration for a linear operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) using a signal attenuation technique. The OTA is designed to operate with a ±0.8V supply voltage and consumes 0.45mW power. All simulations are performed by ELDO model BSIM3v3 technology CMOS TSMC 0.18μm. The simulation results of this circuit showed a high DC gain of 73.6dB with a unity frequency of 50.19MHz and a total harmonic distortion of -60.81dB at 100 kHz for an input voltage of 1Vpp. Based on this circuit, a voltage mode universal filter has been implemented. The simulation results are in a good agreement with the theoretical calculations.
Competitive intelligence: construct exploration, validation and equivalence
(2008)

Purpose – Little empirical research has been conducted on competitive intelligence (CI). This paper aims to contribute to the quantitative strand of the CI literature by exploring and validating the theoretical constructs of the CI process. Design/methodology/approach – Data from 601 questionnaires filled out by South African and Flemish exporters were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and construct equivalence analysis between the sub-samples. Findings – The results showed that the CI process consists of three constructs, while the context in which CI takes place consists of four constructs. This agrees to some extent with the literature. When verifying the constructs for both cultures it was found that all but one CI context construct can be viewed as equivalent in both groups. Bias analysis identified one item in the questionnaire that was biased. Via regression analysis it was also indicated that the context in which CI takes place influences the CI process to a large extent. The research identified size as an important influencing factor in a business’ CI process. Practical implications – Businesses involved in CI should take note that an improvement in their formal infrastructure, employee involvement and internal information processes could enhance their CI capability. Originality/value – This paper contributes towards the formalising of the constructs of competitive intelligence.
Empirical studies of software engineering: a roadmap
(2000)

In this article we summarize the strengths and weaknesses of empirical research in software engineering. We argue that in order to improve the current situation we must create better studies and draw more credible interpretations from them. We finally present a roadmap for this improvement, which includes a general structure for software empirical studies and concrete steps for achieving these goals: designing better studies, collecting data more effectively, and involving others in our empirical enterprises.
Hidost: a static machine-learning-based detector of malicious files
(2016)

Malicious software, i.e., malware, has been a persistent threat in the information security landscape since the early days of personal computing. The recent targeted attacks extensively use non-executable malware as a stealthy attack vector. There exists a substantial body of previous work on the detection of non-executable malware, including static, dynamic, and combined methods. While static methods perform orders of magnitude faster, their applicability has been hitherto limited to specific file formats. This paper introduces Hidost, the first static machine-learning-based malware detection system designed to operate onmultiple file formats. Extending a previously published, highly effective method, it combines the logical structure of files with their content for even better detection accuracy. Our system has been implemented and evaluated on two formats, PDF and SWF (Flash). Thanks to its modular design and general feature set, it is extensible to other formats whose logical structure is organized as a hierarchy. Evaluated in realistic experiments on timestamped datasets comprising 440,000 PDF and 40,000 SWF files collected during several months, Hidost outperformed all antivirus engines deployed by the website VirusTotal to detect the highest number of malicious PDF files and ranked among the best on SWF malware.
Thinking in circuits: toward neurobiological explanation in cognitive neuroscience
(2014)

Cognitive theory has decomposed human mental abilities into cognitive (sub) systems, and cognitive neuroscience succeeded in disclosing a host of relationships between cognitive systems and specific structures of the human brain. However, an explanation of why specific functions are located in specific brain loci had still been missing, along with a neurobiological model that makes concrete the neuronal circuits that carry thoughts and meaning. Brain theory, in particular the Hebb-inspired neurocybernetic proposals by Braitenberg, now offers an avenue toward explaining brain–mind relationships and to spell out cognition in terms of neuron circuits in a neuromechanistic sense. Central to this endeavor is the theoretical construct of an elementary functional neuronal unit above the level of individual neurons and below that of whole brain areas and systems: the distributed neuronal assembly (DNA) or thought circuit (TC). It is shown that DNA/TC theory of cognition offers an integrated explanatory perspective on brain mechanisms of perception, action, language, attention, memory, decision and conceptual thought. We argue that DNAs carry all of these functions and that their inner structure (e.g., core and halo subcomponents), and their functional activation dynamics (e.g., ignition and reverberation processes) answer crucial localist questions, such as why memory and decisions draw on prefrontal areas although memory formation is normally driven by information in the senses and in the motor system. We suggest that the ability of building DNAs/TCs spread out over different cortical areas is the key mechanism for a range of specifically human sensorimotor, linguistic and conceptual capacities and that the cell assembly mechanism of overlap reduction is crucial for differentiating a vocabulary of actions, symbols and concepts.